|
Having spent 1.5 years in Montreal, a hella lot of weekends in Toronto, some time in NYC, Wash DC, and Charlotte, NC during the past few months, I can tell you there has been severe consolidation in the clubbing scene everywhere, and its certainly not unique to Toronto. Its not the nineties anymore. And its not Toronto's fault.
Take a look at NYC- you have two large size clubs left- former crobar and Pacha, and two smaller venues-Cielo and Sullivan Room. The aggregate capacity is a few thousand people for a city of more than 8 million, 15 million when you count the surrounding suburbs!
Charlotte, the second largest banking center in the U.S., used to have 3 large clubs and a huge breaks scene, now only one left in the whole city, which closes at 4am.
Buzzlife in DC no longer does events and Nation is closed. Now there are occasional bar events on a monthly basis.
Sonic certainly did not make Toronto on its own. There are still plenty of other venues. The CZ Sundays are as legendary now as Stereo in Montreal.
Montreal also suffers the same things as Toronto.
1. Severe Consolidation. You have stereo and circus left in terms of afterhours. I don't know how many times I went to find these places mostly empty if there wasn't a major headliner coming on. Look at Nic Fancuilli at Stereo on Friday night a few months ago- awesome music- but only a couple hundred people showed on a friday night... and only 7000 out of the 14000 expected showed up for black and blue.
And stereobar- how many times did we walk in on Wednesday or Thursday nights to find only 2 dozen people standing around the bar? At least with CZ, Footwork, or Guv, its pretty much guaranteed to be packed.
2. The whole girl thing in Montreal- sure there are lots of them- I went to McGill for the past 1.5 years and the Bronfman building was packed full of beautiful ladies. However, I can tell you from getting to know them that they really don't go out! Go to Stereo or circus and count the number of available attractive single women- last ten times I've been to circus its pretty much been a sausage fest. As far as the supper clubs, forget it, they seem to cater to an already exclusive group who seem to form their alliances at the age of 17.
3. The whole age thing in Montreal. The clubbing age, with the exception of stereo or Thursdays, seems sooo young. Go to Tribe, any of the Supper clubs, or most places on St Laurent, you almost have to be a McGill student to fit in. Of course Parking and Stereo excluded. In my travels around the U.S. the past few months, I find much greater diversity in age groups in all types of bars and clubs.
In short, Montreal's club scene is still healthier than everywhere else, despite its own consolidation. Despite Montreal's reputation for its women, which is well deserved as you walk around downtown on a summer afternoon, they don't really seem to frequent the club scene and usually the bars and clubs are a sausage fest like anywhere else. Stereo is out of this world and is our favorite club.
Toronto has the Guv, Footwork and legendary CZ Sundays, which is the primary reason for any trips to Toronto we make. The vibe at the CZ is unmatched anywhere and the music just doesn't get any better. We have found people in Toronto clubs equally friendly as Montreal and have met tons of people at various locales, especially the Zone.
For day to day living, Montreal beats any city hands down in North America, with the exception of NYC following a close 2nd. Toronto is much like the rest of the U.S., and any perceived "coldness" as a result of its hurried lifestyle or large highway infrastrucutre is certainly no different than the rest of North America. Montreal's public transport, parks, restaurants, shopping, and general atmosphere certainly can't be beat. I would love to make it my home, but unfortunately cannot.
In short, as far as clubbing, sure Montreal is better than Toronto, but it certainly has its weak points. Toronto has the Zone which is its saving grace.
As far as day to day living, Montreal is the best.
___________________
Me gusta la salsa picante!! ??Y'tu??
|
